The Lopsided Christmas Cake (24 page)

“Say, I was wondering, Delbert, would you have the time to stain our barn before winter sets in?” Elma asked.

He added more salad to his plate. “Sure, that shouldn’t be a problem.”

“Maybe I’ll come along and lend a hand,” Joseph was quick to say. “With two of us working, the barn will get done faster.”

Thelma smiled. “That would be great. We’ll pay you both, of course.”

Joseph shook his head. “There’s no need for that. You can pay Delbert if you want to, but I’m more than happy to do it for free.”

Delbert cast Joseph a quick glance. He shrugged and said, “Guess I can do the same.”

After they finished the meal and the dishes were done, Joseph brought out a couple of games. “What should we play first?” he asked. “Uno or Rook?”

“I vote for Uno,” Thelma said.

Joseph looked over at her and smiled. “That’s what it’ll be then. Unless Dell and Elma don’t want to play that.”

“I think we should let our supper settle a bit and then eat dessert,” Elma said.

Thelma and Joseph bobbed their heads, but Delbert’s forehead wrinkled. He looked disappointed. Joseph didn’t seem to notice though, as he shuffled the cards and dealt, placing the cards facedown. The rest of them he put facedown in the center of the table. Then he turned one card over so the game could begin.

“You go first, Thelma,” he said, “since you’re sitting to my left.”

Thelma picked up her cards and studied them. “I don’t have a card to match the color or number of the one you laid down, so I guess it’s my sister’s turn.”

“Don’t forget to draw a card,” Elma reminded.

“Oh, that’s right.” Thelma drew a card off the pile in the center of the table.

Then Elma took her turn and discarded one of her cards. Delbert played a reverse card, so it was Elma’s turn again.

The game continued, until Elma had one card left. “Uno!” she shouted.

Delbert looked at her suspiciously. “Already? We haven’t been playing that long.”

She stiffened. “I hope you’re not accusing me of cheating.”

“Course not,” he said, shaking his head. “I was merely making a statement.”

On Elma’s next turn, she laid down a wild card, her last one.

Thelma moaned. “I still have seven cards left.”

“I have five.” Joseph looked at Delbert. “How many do you have?”

Delbert tossed his cards on the table. “Too many, and it’s all because somebody kept playing ‘draw two’ cards that were meant for me.” He looked at Elma.

“Sorry,” she mumbled. “I had to play the cards I had.”

“Let’s play again.” Joseph gathered up the cards and handed them to Thelma. She shuffled and dealt, and the game started. This time Delbert won.

Elma won the next game and Delbert the game after that.

Thelma looked at Joseph. “I think we’re both losing this game.”

“It doesn’t matter,” he said, smiling at her. “It’s fun for us all to be together.” Pushing his chair back, he stood. “Maybe we oughta have some dessert now. Who wants coffee to go with the whoopie pies?”

All hands shot up.

“Do you need some help?” Thelma asked.

“Sure, you can set out the whoopies,” he replied.

“I’ll bring in another log for the fireplace.” Delbert pushed back his chair then jumped when Ginger let out a
yip.
“Sorry, girl. I didn’t see you behind my chair.” He bent down to pet the dog’s head.

“You have to watch when there’s a pet in the house,” Elma said. “They can get underfoot without you even knowing it.”

“I’m sure Ginger knows I didn’t do it on purpose.” Delbert headed for the door without putting on a jacket.

While Joseph and Thelma got things ready, Elma tried to think of something to say when Delbert came back with the wood. She probably shouldn’t have said anything when Joseph’s dog yipped. Without a doubt, she felt uncomfortable around him tonight. More so than the other times they’d been together. Was there the remotest possibility that they could become a couple?

T
hat was such a nice evening, wasn’t it?” Joseph said after the twins left. “Thelma is fun to be with. Some of the jokes she told had me laughing so hard my sides ached.

“She was pretty funny,” Delbert agreed. “I wish Elma were more like her.”

Joseph’s eyebrows shot up. “You’re interested in Thelma?”

“I didn’t say I was interested in her. Said I wished Elma were more like her.”

“So you’re not interested in Thelma?”

Delbert shook his head and thumped Joseph’s shoulder. “Don’t look so
naerfich.
I’m not gonna steal your
aldi.
”

“Whew, that’s a relief! I wasn’t nervous, but I’ll admit, you had me worried there for a minute.” Joseph released a deep breath. “I do think of Thelma as my girlfriend now.”

Delbert snickered. “I kind of got that impression. Now don’t do anything to mess it up.”

Joseph winced. “Did I say or do something wrong tonight?”

“Not that I know of. You and Thelma seemed to get along fine.” Delbert grimaced. “I, on the other hand, had a few issues with Elma.”

“Really? I thought everything was going okay. What kind of issues did you have with her?”

“For one thing, when we were playing the last game of the night, Elma made a big deal out of me not drinking my coffee before it got cold.” Delbert talked in a high-pitched tone, trying to imitate Elma’s voice. “‘Oh, Delbert, aren’t you going to drink your coffee? It’s probably cold by now.’”

“Guess I didn’t hear her say that,” Joseph said. “What’d you say?”

“I said, ‘Maybe I like it cold.’” Delbert shifted in his chair. “Oh, and when we were playing the games, Elma was very competitive.”

“And you weren’t?”

Delbert shrugged. “Maybe a little. I’ve never met a woman who acted that way when it came to playing a game.”

“Everyone’s different, and some people take their game playing more seriously. Look how Elma choked on the hot pepper flakes you suggested she use on her pizza. Maybe you should have explained it before handing her the bottle.”

“Guess that’s true. But she took it so fast and then took a bite even faster. I had no time to warn her.” Delbert rose from his chair, abruptly changing the subject. “I don’t know about you, but I’m bushed. Think I’ll head to bed. See you in the morning.”

Joseph gave a nod. “I’ll be up bright and early.”

“Are you feeling all right? You’re awfully quiet,” Thelma said as she and Elma traveled home from Joseph’s. Thelma was driving Pearl, since Elma said she didn’t feel like it.

“I’m tired, and I’ve got the beginning of a koppweh.”

“Oh no. I hope it’s not another migraine coming on.”

“It’s not bad yet,” Elma responded. “I’m sure with some aspirin and a good night’s rest I’ll feel better in the morning.”

Thelma reached across the seat and patted her sister’s arm. “Did you enjoy yourself tonight?”

“It was fun playing games, but I think Delbert was upset that I won so often.”

“Most men are competitive. He probably couldn’t deal with losing to a woman.” Thelma smiled. “Delbert’s sure a lot different than Joseph. Joe always seems so easygoing.”

“That’s true,” Elma agreed. “You’re lucky to have found him.”

“I think it’s more that he found me. But then, Delbert found you as well.”

“Humph! Well, the least he could have done was warn me about those pepper flakes in time. I thought I would choke to death, it was so hot.”

“In Delbert’s defense, you did take the bottle from him rather fast, and you put an awful lot of the stuff on your pizza,” Thelma said. “I think he was getting ready to warn you, but you didn’t give him much of a chance. You bit into that pizza so quickly, even I was surprised.”

“I was only trying to show Delbert that I was receptive to his suggestion.”

“In any event, I don’t think the evening was a total flop, do you?”

Elma shrugged as she sat quietly beside Thelma.

“You seemed to enjoy petting Joe’s dog tonight,” Thelma commented.

“Jah. Ginger’s a nice
hund.
”

“She seems to have taken to you as well.”

Elma laughed. “That’s probably because I was feeding her pieces of pepperoni under the table.”

Thelma gasped. “You did that?”

“Didn’t you notice?”

“No, can’t say that I did.”

“Probably because your focus was on Joseph all night.”

Do I detect a bit of jealousy in my sister’s tone?
Thelma wondered.
If she and Delbert would set their differences aside and focus on each other’s positive qualities, they could have a nice relationship, too. Sure wish I could say or do something to make that happen.

Topeka

When Elma woke up the following morning, she knew there was no way she could work in the store, because her head pulsated with pain. It was even worse than the night before. It wouldn’t be good to put the C
LOSED
sign in the window, like they had on the Saturday they’d gone fishing with Delbert and Joseph. They had quickly discovered that for some folks in their community, Saturday was the only day they could shop.
I wonder if Thelma could handle things by herself.

Elma forced herself to climb out of bed and went into the hall to knock on Thelma’s bedroom door. She hoped her sister hadn’t already gone downstairs, because given the way her head pounded and her stomach felt nauseous, she would need help making her way down those stairs to the bathroom. She’d just made it to Thelma’s door when it opened and Thelma stepped out. “Oh, Sister, I didn’t know you were standing there. Are you all right? You don’t look so well.”

“My headache is worse than it was last night,” Elma explained, “and I don’t think I can work at the store today.”

“It’s okay,” Thelma assured her. “I’ll manage on my own. You should go rest on the sofa so you don’t have to go up and down the stairs today.”

“Are you sure? Maybe we should close the store.”

Thelma shook her head. “As you have said many times, we need the money. Besides, if we close, any people coming in today will be disappointed.”

“You’re right. I feel bad about leaving you all alone to run the store, but I don’t have it in me this morning to work.”

Thelma patted Elma’s arm gently. “I’ll be fine, and if things get too crazy, I’ll close up early.”

“If I feel better before the day is out, I’ll come out to the store.” Elma gave her sister a hug.

Thelma had only been at the store fifteen minutes when Mary came by with little Richard and Philip. Thelma smiled when the boys plopped down on the braided rug near the children’s books. Each of them picked out a book while their mother did her shopping. She was glad to see that Richard’s arm had healed and he was no longer wearing a cast. “Would you like a piece of candy?” she asked, holding out a small chocolate bar for each of them. The brothers nodded and eagerly took the candy. “Danki,” they said.

Once more, Thelma found herself longing to be a mother.
If Joseph and I got married, I wonder what our children would look like. Would they have his red hair and freckles, or would they resemble me?
She shook her head.
I need to get back to work and quit daydreaming about Joe. He may not even be entertaining the idea of marriage.
The words of Proverbs 16:20 that she’d read in Grandma’s Bible and committed to memory came to mind. “I need to trust You, Lord,” she whispered.